


Halfway to Anywhere

by totchipanda



Category: An Ember in the Ashes - Sabaa Tahir
Genre: Alternate Ending, F/M, Oral Sex, Slow Build, Vaginal Sex, a torch against the night spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:28:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26688931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totchipanda/pseuds/totchipanda
Summary: “And by the morning's light, we’ll be halfway to anywhere, where love is more than just your name.” Anywhere - Evanescence.Alternate ending to A Torch Against the Night.
Relationships: Laia/Elias Veturius
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	Halfway to Anywhere

**Author's Note:**

> When I finished Torch, I was HOPPING MAD that this book was like 99% torture porn and all we got was ONE kiss at the VERY end. I couldn't stop thinking about a fix-it fic, and since that's what fanfic is for, I wrote it. Uh it's probably a lot more graphic than would have been included... There are a few places where I tried to blend the book with the fic. I hope you enjoy!

… _ "If only every boy were so easy to win over."  _

_ I did not mean for the comment to sound so pointed, and bite my lip as soon as I say it. Elias lifts a dark eyebrow and gives me a fleeting glance of curiosity before looking back down at the half-plucked chicken.  _ Afya’s teasing words come back to me, about  _ getting into bed _ , and my denial of any interest. It was a lie. I hate that she knew that.

It’s more than that, though. I want… him. Just him. Whether that’s here, in a winter cabin near the Forest, or fighting at my side while we travel to save the Scholars, it doesn’t matter. I want  _ him _ . 

“Elias,” I start to say.

“I can’t stay, Laia,” he says, quietly. His voice is only barely audible above the  _ rip rip rip _ of feathers. “I can’t be a part of this world for long.”

I look down at my hands, gripping the edge of the counter. “I know,” I say, barely above a whisper. It’s hard to believe sometimes, when he is right here with me, warm and strong and  _ alive _ . But when he disappears into the forest at night and often well through the day, he comes back with a look in his eyes I will  _ never _ be able to understand. There is something so deep and unknowable in that look that I never ask about it. I know he will just shake his head and refuse to explain. He can’t. I choose my next words carefully. “I’m not… asking for forever,” I say. “I’m asking for right now.”

He sets the now-plucked chicken down on the other side of the counter and grips the edge with his hands. He has bits of feathers sticking to his fingers, and I look away quickly at the sight of his ruined nails. They will never recover. “I  _ can’t _ ,” he says again, and the pain in his voice is palpable.

I cover his hand with mine, letting my fingers curl around it. “I want  _ you _ ,” I say softly. “For however long, and as much as you will let me have.” 

He doesn't move for a long moment. Then slowly, so slowly, he turns his hand to take mine, his fingers as gentle as if he was handling a newborn kitten. He lifts it to his lips, and presses a kiss to the inside of my wrist. My stomach clenches. His lips are warm, dry, and soft. I want more, more, but I stifle the demand. I said I wanted whatever he could give me. If this is all I could have, then I must be satisfied.

He releases my wrist from his lips and presses it against his cheek. I let my fingers curl outward, the tips sliding against his hair. He sighs, an underlying edge to it that I don’t try to identify, and lets go of my hand. He takes one step to the side so he is directly in front of me, cupping my face in his hands. Our eyes meet, and the naked desire I see on his face matches my own. My breath catches.

I realize he is waiting for me, to make sure of what I want. I grab at the fabric of his shirt, pulling him to me. His lips meet mine, certain and unhurried. He drops his hands to slide around my waist and back, holding me as close as he can despite the difference in our heights. I realize he wants this, wants  _ me _ , as much as I do him. The knowledge warms me like nothing else has and I let go of his shirt to wrap my arms around his neck. I  _ never  _ want this moment to end.

It does end, a moment and a lifetime later, with Elias pulling his lips away from mine. He hovers just above me, close enough to kiss again if I chose to. I don’t, not yet. My breath heaves through my chest, and I hate that he seems to have better control of himself than I do. He kisses the tip of my nose and then my forehead, lingering there for several seconds. “No promises,” he murmurs against my skin, and I feel his voice beneath my hand as he speaks.

“No promises,” I agree, twisting the back of his shirt in my fingers. I want, I  _ want… _

He leans away from me then, leaving one arm around me, and we meet each other’s eyes. I see the desire in his, his eyes dark with it. With his free hand, he touches my face, brushing the loose strands of hair back, tracing over my brows and cheeks. I close my eyes and let him, willing my breath to slow, to savour this moment as much as I had the previous one.  _ As much as you will give me,  _ I remind myself.  _ As much as I can have. _

He follows his fingers with his lips, soft and barely-there, while his fingers drop down to my neck, my collar bone, over one shoulder and down my back. I can’t help the sigh that leaves my lips, and he kisses me again, this time slow and deep. I can feel all of my insecurities melting away while his lips tease mine, his hands and arms a warm, comforting presence on my back. 

He pulls back again and I feel the loss of his lips keenly. It’s quickly forgotten as he begins to dot slow kisses down my neck, into the collar of my shirt. My hands go to the ties to release them, to allow him more room, but he catches them in one of his own. “Not yet,” he murmurs, tongue flicking across my skin. “I want to do it.” My breath falters. He moves, stepping back as he scoops me in his arms, his hands on my buttocks as I wrap my legs around him for balance. I gasp again as I feel the truth of his body against mine, proud and unashamed.  _ Skies _ .

He carries me to my bed, sitting down upon it with me straddled across his thighs. His hands are on my hips, steadying me, sending tendrils of warmth through my lower body. For a moment all we do is look at each other. His face, illuminated on one side by the fire, is so familiar and yet different. My gaze drops, trailing over the lines of his throat, his shoulder, his chest. I smooth my hands over his shoulders, dragging my eyes back up, to find him smirking at me. “You’re blushing,” he declares.

“I am not,” I retort, but my voice lacks conviction. There’s no way the heat I feel on my cheeks and in my body is from only the fire. 

He makes a noise that sounds like “mmm”. He clearly does not believe me. I am finally more of a height with him, and so close that our breath mingles between us. His eyes are molten silver, and hungry. It’s nice to meet them on my level. It’s my turn to kiss him as he kissed me. I start with his neck, where his chest and throat meet, trailing kisses up his face and back down to his lips, nibbling at the lower one.

I frame his face with my hands, kissing him fully. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me close. I gasp into his mouth as our bodies press together, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. His mouth opens in response to mine, his tongue sliding in. The sensation is strange, but not unwelcome. My hands drop to his shoulders and then across the breadth of his back.

His hands on my back work at my shirt, pulling it up until he touches my skin. My skin shivers under his touch, though I am not cold. One calloused finger traces down the length of my spine all the way to the waist of my pants, where his hand splays across my lower hip. Warmth spreads through my belly, pleasant and familiar. But also… different, somehow. I push the thought away, bringing my hands back to start working on the ties of my shirt. I want less clothing between us,  _ now _ .

Elias’ hand catches both of mine, easily. He breaks our kiss slowly, only enough to speak. “Let me,” he murmurs, his voice husky. My hands drop away and he begins to work on the ties, pressing soft kisses to my lips, each one fully separate from the last. He has to stop when it becomes clear that the tie is tangled on itself, focusing his gaze and both hands on it. The slightest furrow appears between his brows as he works, and it’s all I can do to not to reach up and kiss it away.

Finally the ties are loose and he pulls the shirt collar aside so he can kiss my neck again. His hands slide down my arms and to my back, pulling the shirt up again. He moves to kiss the other side as he works it further up, his fingers against my skin. I shiver lightly at the cool air that touches me, contrasting with the sensation of his fingers trailing fire in their wake.

The shirt goes up and over my head easily, exposing my torso to the world. Elias sets it aside before brushing his fingers over my hairline, smoothing the wisps away. “Will you take your hair down for me?” he asks in a murmur.

As I reach up to start pulling pins from my hair, he drops his own to cup the sides of my breasts. Though I’m still wearing the wrapper that binds them, the heat of his hands burns through the layers of cloth. I suddenly feel more vulnerable than I have in my entire life, and drop my hands to cross them over my chest.

Elias freezes, moving his hands to my arms immediately. I stare at him, surprised by the strength of my reaction. There is no judgement on his face, only concern. “I promise,” he says, his voice measured and even, “that I will do nothing you do not wish for me to do.”

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, hating that it shakes as I do so. I believe him. He has not broken a promise to me yet. For long moments, we stay like that, me holding myself and him holding me. The fire cracks, the sound sending a shiver down my spine.  _ This is Elias,  _ I remind myself, willing my shoulders to relax.  _ Elias. Elias. _ I lean forward to close the distance between us, kissing him again. He returns it, oh so sweetly. It’s almost chaste, a very pointed contrast with the rest of his body, reaching for mine.

Slowly, I undo the knot that holds the wrapper in place, letting the ends slip down. With the tension gone, it becomes loose. The only indication Elias gives of being aware of it is a slight change in his breathing. His fingers don’t even twitch.

Reassured, I pull away, meeting his eyes. He always looks like he’s smiling, but now he is for real. The gift of my trust is apparent on his face, and I relax. He smooths his hands over my back, gently encouraging the wrapper away from my body. It slips free, pooling around my waist.

He breaks eye contact to look down at my body, brushing his hands over my breasts. “You are beautiful,” he murmurs. I don’t believe for one second that I am the first or only half-naked woman he’s ever seen, but the reverence in his voice warms me anyway. His fingers smooth along my skin, tracing over the scar the commandant gave me so many moons ago. He lingers there for a moment but says nothing, the smallest frown appearing between his eyebrows.

I don’t want to think about the scar, or who gave it to me. I lean forward to kiss him again, my hands working at the closures of his own shirt. His hands move down to my breasts again as he kisses me back, thumbs rubbing over my nipples. Skies, I had no idea I could feel like this, to be touched by a man. By  _ this _ man. I tug on his shirt, pulling it up much as he did mine, only breaking our contact when it has to pass over his head. Our eyes meet, his face so close that I could count all of his eyelashes if I wanted to. His shirt goes to the side, forgotten.

He smirks and leans back on his hands. “Well?” he says, tipping his head to the side. “Do I meet your approval?” His tone is light, but there’s an underlying note of… uncertainty? I trail my hands from his shoulders, over his chest and ribs and down to his stomach. He’s put on some weight since Kauf, but he’s still so thin. I can feel the shadow of his ribs beneath the layer of muscle. And there is no doubt at all that he could still deal violence and death as efficiently as his time at Blackcliff. 

I push the thought from my mind. He won’t hurt me. “You’ll do,” I say with as much loftiness as I can manage. The breathiness in my voice betrays me; I can see it as he smiles, genuinely smiles, and returns to me. His arms are hot on my back, our bare torsos pressing together, his lips once again on mine. My heart swells in my chest, until I feel like my body can’t contain it. Skies, I want him so much.

“Your hair,” he reminds me, his lips moving against mine. I had forgotten. My arms tremble as I reach up again to pull the pins free. My hair doesn’t like to be contained at the best of times and as soon as the pins are removed, it falls down my back. Elias breaks the kiss as he sits back to look at me. He looks  _ through _ me a little bit, his hands moving to fan my hair about my shoulders. A smile touches his lips. 

“I’ve always wanted to see you in just your hair,” he whispers. “Beautiful.”

Elias  _ moves _ , I’m not entirely sure how, holding me until I’m on my back. He shifts to lay next to me, his leg over mine. His hand smooths over my breast, my waist, my hip while he trails his lips down to capture the nipple in his mouth. I stop breathing for one quick moment, and when it starts up again, my chest heaves against him. His fingers are at the closures of my pants now, deftly working them loose before smoothing the fabric open. My hands tighten where they are pressed to his body, shifting my hips towards him.

His mouth leaves me as he sits up, groaning as both hands make short work of my pants and smallclothes. Now totally bare and completely naked before his eyes, he looks me up down, his eyes nearly as hot as his touch. I resist the urge to cover myself with my hands, as futile as it would be, and twist them into the blankets beneath me. It’s only at this angle, with me lying back and him kneeling by my legs that I dare to look at him fully. He’s still dressed on the lower half, though the cloth clings to him in a way that borders on obscene. I’m barely aware of biting my lip, or of my back arching off the bed. The effect on him is visible, his sex jerking beneath my gaze.

His hands make quick work of his waistband, shoving the material down his hips and thighs. He sits back to pull them off of his long legs, tossing them to the floor. His smallclothes are next, also tossed carelessly away. He is not the first naked man I have seen, either, though he is the first to be so well-lit in this aroused state as he turns to face me again. My one night with Keenan had been in the cold cellar of a safehouse with only one small lantern to light the space. Such a difference a simple fire could make. The golden light dances across Elias’ skin, highlighting and shadowing in turn. I try not to stare, and fail. He is not the same as Keenan. Not in the  _ slightest _ .

He takes pity on me, lowering himself next to me again so that I am forced to look at his face rather than his body. He kisses me deeply, his fingers dancing in light circles on my hip, my thigh, brushing against the apex of my thighs. My legs tremble. I’m scared, I’m excited; nervous and eager, all at the same time. 

“Tell me, Laia,” he says with his lips pressed against my neck. His voice is husky. The sound of it goes straight to my belly. “Tell me when you’re ready.”

Something tells me that if I said I wasn’t, he would stop here, and we would not do anything more than lie together, naked, kissing and touching.  _ I want  _ you, I had said earlier.  _ For however long, and as much as you will let me have.  _ He was giving me exactly what I asked for. More than I had dared to ask for aloud. My desire had not changed.

I roll towards him, lifting my leg over his hip and pressing myself close. My body opens to his, and we both gasp. “I’m ready,” I tell him. “Take me.”

With a practiced move, he shifts me back to the mattress, holding my leg up against his hip, and  _ moves _ , joining our bodies together. I gasp again - I think. I feel it more than hear it. I was more than ready, as he slid in easily, driving every bit of my attention to our union. I can only imagine the range of emotions he sees on my face, as I wasn’t even aware I had closed my eyes until I opened them again to look up at him. Skies, I had not expected  _ this _ . My world narrows only to him, his arms holding me, his  _ body _ filling mine. 

“ _ Elias, _ ” I breathe, every emotion I have at that moment coming out in his name. My hands slide up his body, under his arms to splay them across his back. He groans in response, and his face changes. I see now that his control is tenuous at best, and he is as affected as I am. 

“ _ Laia _ .” He shifts a little, changing the positioning of our bodies so he can press deeper into me. He moves, setting a slow pace to begin with. My heart is racing as I shift to meet him, and we soon settle into the position that is best. I want to focus on the moment, on every detail in case this is the only night I have to remember with him, and give up, losing myself instead. Every thrust, every harsh breath, every grunt and groan writes itself onto my soul until I have to bite back the cry that pulls itself from deep within, my body clenching around his.

Elias shudders and stills, muffling his own voice into my hair. His arms tremble beneath me and I can feel the tension in his body. He lets a breath go, slowly and shakily, and slowly sinks down beside me, slipping from my body. I wish I could hold onto him forever, my body aching with his loss. He presses a kiss to my lips, a little sloppier than earlier, before rolling onto his back, chest heaving as he catches his breath.

I turn towards him, pillowing my head on his shoulder and sliding my hand onto his chest. I can feel his heart beating fast beneath it, and I can’t help the smile that crosses my lips. He wraps his arm around my shoulders, holding me close as we lay on the bed, my back to the fire which has died somewhat while we were absorbed in each other. It’s almost as warm as he is. The way I feel now, the ache in my body and the release that still tingles along my limbs, how  _ safe _ I feel within the circle of his arms, I will never forget. I will always treasure this night.

He trails his hand in a slow, lazy circle around the point of my shoulder, down my arm and back up again. His touch keeps the fire inside me stoked; I want him again already. I let my hand trail down his chest and stomach to rest on his hip, pulling myself closer. He makes a sound, and I can hear him smile in it.

“Cold?” he asks, his own hand drifting to my waist.

“No,” I say, lifting my leg over his. It’s not strictly true; more of my skin is exposed to the air than is protected by him and the fire, and I am not used to winter lands with the covering of snow outside. As if on cue, I shiver. 

He chuckles, moving out from under me to get up. I feel the loss of his presence keenly, and prop myself up on my elbow to watch him move about the room, as naked as the day he was born, and totally comfortable in it. I enjoy watching him more than I thought possible, feeling my cheeks heat up again. He builds the fire again, the light flaring and illuminating him like an icon in a temple. I let my eyes roam over him as I had earlier, this time unobserved and so I am more unashamed in taking him in. Satisfied with the fire, he stands and turns away, exposing the breadth of his back, buttocks and legs to me. I smile. Yes, his physical form is pleasing to me.

He takes a moment to check on Darin before retrieving a cup of water from the ewer I’ve kept filled on the counter. He brings it back to me, hips swinging as he walks. I can’t look away before he notices me staring, so I don’t even try, bringing my eyes up to his when he’s only a few feet away. I can’t read his expression but he seems to be… amused?

“Here,” he says, offering me the cup. I sit up to drink, grateful for his thoughtfulness. He sits next to me, and takes the cup when I offer it back to him, draining the last of the fluid from it. Something about it is so intimate, though we have shared utensils and waterskins before. Perhaps everything is more intimate when you are naked together. I smile, reaching out to slide my hand across his shoulder.

He turns to smile at me, getting up again to return the cup to the counter. When he returns to me, I help him free the blanket from beneath my body. He spreads it over me before joining me again, letting me tangle myself into his arms before arranging the blanket over us, trapping our shared heat inside. “That's better,” he sighs, contentedly.

My eyes close as we lay together, just enjoying the feeling of his body against mine. I let my mind wander, thinking about the could-have-beens. If he hadn’t been bound to the forest, would we have dared tried to move Darin to Adisa with the others? If Darin had been awake, would I have left Elias here alone? If he wasn’t bound, and Darin had been awake, what then? Would he… would we..? What if, what if, what if?

“What are you thinking about?” Elias asks, softly. His arm tightens a little around my body, and his other hand comes up to brush against my cheek. “You got all tense.”

“Nothing,” I say.  _ Everything. _ “Just the things that cannot be.”

He doesn’t reply right away, though I can tell he’s not satisfied with the answer. “Are you rested?” he finally says.

I nod. “Yes.” Tears prickle at my eyes. So this is to be it…

He moves, rolling me onto my back so he can hover over me. The benefit to lying down, I realize, is the ability to see into his eyes, level with mine. They are molten silver again, and I shiver in a way that has  _ nothing  _ to do being cold. “I know how to distract you,” he all but growls before his lips meet mine.

I throw my arms around his neck, arching into him, kissing him back with a desperation I wish I didn’t feel. He throws the blanket aside, and quickly rearranges our bodies so he can enter me again, hard and strong. I cry out into his mouth. Oh skies,  _ yes _ . Our earlier exertions have left me aching, and I can’t tell if it’s pain I feel, or exaltation.

He stops, pulling back just enough to look down at me. His hand smooths over my brow. “ _ Laia, _ ” he says. I look up at him; his concern is genuine. “Have I hurt you?”

I can’t find my voice, or at least not my words. I pull him down to me again, kissing his lips. He returns it, keeping his body still. I don’t know how he does it, because I want him to  _ move  _ against me, and he is frustratingly still. I don’t break our kiss as I move my hands down his body, every muscle and scar sliding beneath my fingers. I dig them in when I reach his hips, trying to pull him closer. For my efforts, he bites my lower lip. Not hard, just enough to let me know that he understands me perfectly.

Slowly, excruciatingly slow, he begins to move. At first small pulses of his hips that only tease. I tighten my fingers, willing him to  _ go.  _ He does, quickly increasing the pace until the bed frame is creaking beneath us. I cling to him, losing myself again in his body working over and against mine. I almost miss the moment when he finds his release, his hips jerking hard against mine. A few more thrusts and he gives a long sigh as he holds in place.

I ache with unfulfilled need, tightening my arms around him. My mind flits briefly to all the whispered conversations I overheard as a young woman, of husbands who didn’t satisfy, and lovers who did. I don’t know how, or if, I should ask him for  _ satisfaction _ . 

Elias separates from me, throwing his legs and then body off the bed. I want to howl; he would leave me so soon? Instead, he pulls me to the edge, hooking one of my legs over his shoulder. His mouth is on me then, sucking and licking and teasing me until I’m squirming with need. “Elias,” I gasp, twisting my hands in the sheets. “Please…”

He nudges my other leg aside. “Tell me,” he murmurs, stroking my thigh. “Tell me what you want, Laia. What do you  _ need _ ?” His voice is husky again. Skies, I could never tire of hearing that. Of knowing I put it there.

My hand finds his head, his hair sliding through my fingers as I press him back to me. I do my best to direct him, and he is a very willing student, trying everything I ask. It is not long before another wave of pleasure washes over me, my back arching and legs tightening as the moment lingers. Then it is gone, only the warmth of release in its place, and I fall back, panting.

Elias tucks my legs back up onto the bed and rejoins me a moment later, once again draping the discarded blanket over us. He presses a long kiss to my lips, his own sticky with our mingled fluids, his hand curled against my cheek. It’s his turn to lay with his head resting against mine, his hand across my hip. I lay my hand over his arm, and lift the one between us to rest against his chest.

As our breathing slows and becomes normal, reality starts to set in. I can’t bear the thought of waking up to a cold cabin as good as by myself, with Darin unlikely to wake up any time soon, if ever, and Elias gone to the Forest, and all our companions gone. “Stay with me tonight,” I whisper.

“Tonight,” he agrees, pressing a kiss to my temple. He moves a little closer, his leg over mine, and I relax enough to fall asleep, surrounded by his warmth.

* * *

Sometime in the middle of the night, the wooden floor of the cabin creaks. I bolt up from the mattress, and immediately regret it, falling back again. Skies, I ache all over. In the  _ best _ way, I amend when moments come back to me. My cheeks heat up.

“Sorry,” Elias whispers from beside me. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I was at the edge of the Forest. Saw the fire went out and thought I’d bring in more wood.” He’s dressed, crouched beside the bed, his hand near mine. 

I rub at the sleep in my eyes and yawn. “What time is it?”

“A few hours before dawn.”

Through the window by my bed, the sky is dark and clear. A star shoots across the sky. Then two more.

“We could watch from outside,” Elias says. “It will only go on for an hour or so.”

I sit up, holding the blanket to me against the chill in the cabin. He hands me a shirt from the floor - his, as it turns out - and then my pants as I’m pulling it over my head. I wouldn’t have bothered with the smallclothes and wrapper even if he’d handed them to me. The fire is burning brightly again, and I pause only to check on Darin - he slumbers on soundly, his face unchanged. I sigh as I move past him, wondering if he will ever come back to me.

Elias is standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. I pull his old cloak from its peg by the door, slipping it over my shoulders as I join him. His shirt is rough against my skin as my body reacts to the cold. Despite the intimacies we just shared, I’m almost scared to touch him again. He makes the choice for me, slipping his arm about my shoulder and pulling me against his side. I smile to myself as I lean into his warmth. 

We say nothing as we watch the stars shoot across the sky every few minutes. My breath catches every time. 

“It happens every year.” Elias’s eyes are fixed on the sky. “You can’t see it from Serra. Too much dust.” His hand rubs my shoulder, almost absently, and I swear I can feel him smiling. I shiver lightly, not yet warm enough despite the heat of his body next to mine.

“We should get you a new cloak,” he says, out of the blue, picking at the fabric. “This can’t be warm enough.”

“You gave this to me. It’s my lucky cloak. I’m not giving it up—ever.” I grip the edge of it in one hand and pull it closer.

He shrugs, a smile playing on his lips. He moves, shifting to stand behind me and enfolds me into his arms. I sigh contentedly, leaning back into his body. His arms cover my shoulders easily, and he tucks his chin against my head. The ease of it, how well we fit together like this, sets my entire body on edge. It feels so  _ right _ . I lift my hand out of the cloak to lay it over his, wanting to savour this moment as I had earlier. As much as I enjoyed the physical activities earlier,  _ this _ is what I really want - the quiet comfort of  _ being _ together. Of food prepared together, nights spent in each other’s company. Tears burn at the corners of my eyes, sudden and unexpected. 

_ As much as I can have. _ This really, truly, may be all I can have. The injustice of it howls deep within my soul.

As if sensing my troubles, Elias shifts out from underneath me. His hand under my chin tips my face up to his, and I know the tears are visible there. He cups my face in his hands, his thumbs smoothing beneath my eyes.

“Don’t cry,” he whispers, pain in his voice. “We still have time.”

I slip my hands around his waist, the cloak falling from my shoulders as I rise on my toes. He meets me halfway, his lips on mine. He kisses me slowly, unhurried, reassuring me with his touch. His rain-and-spice scent intoxicates me, and I press myself closer. When I run my teeth across his lower lip, savoring its lushness, he growls low in his throat.

Beyond us, deep in the Forest, something stirs. He inhales sharply and pulls away, lifting a hand to his head.

I look to the Forest. Even in the dark, I can see the treetops rustling. “The spirits,” I say quietly. “They don’t like it?”

“Not in the least. Jealous, probably.” He tries to grin but only grimaces, his eyes pained.

I sigh and rest my forehead against his chest. Slowly, I pull him toward the cabin. “Let’s not upset them.”

We tiptoe into the cabin and settle down beside the fire, arms entwined. At first, I am certain he will leave, called back to his task. But he doesn’t, his hands and lips picking up where they left off outside. I sigh as I lean into him, savouring every touch and kiss. We take our time, trading who is exploring whom, and this time when we join together, he lets me control the motion, once again straddling his lap. His breath is hard against my neck where he has buried his face, his arms tight around my body. It is not long before we are both gasping for air as the world falls away to just the two of us in this small cabin at the edge of a forest.

Spent now, Elias dots kisses across my cheeks before he somehow finds enough energy to take us back to bed. We sink back into the mattress, wrapping ourselves in each other and the blanket as the fire dwindles. He presses his lips against my hair, and a rumble passes through his chest as he murmurs a few words. I don’t hear them clearly, with my ear pressed to his chest, but I think he says -  _ I love you _ . 

I thought I had loved Keenan, for a time. Now I know that I didn’t, at least not like this. That had been a summer storm, intense but brief, born of a need, quickly satisfied. Loving Elias is the sun, the moon, the blazing heat of summer, familiar and constant. I press my hand to his chest, smiling to myself.  _ I love you too. _

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote the last paragraph before I read A Reaper At The Gates. Great minds think alike? LOL.
> 
> Super shout out to my bestie @ktlovely for the beta reads!


End file.
